Dispenser for cutting and supporting tape



Oct. 28, 1952 T J. D] o 2,615,517

DISPENSER FOR CUTTING AND SUPPORTING TAPE Filed June 21, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 28, 1952 T. J. DI clcco 2,615,517

DISPENSER FOR CUTTING AND SUPPORTING TAPE Filed June 21, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIlllll/ Oct. 28, 1952 T. J. DI CICCO 2,615,517

DISPENSER FOR CUTTING AND SUPPORTING TAPE Filed June 21, 1948 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 It'll/ll mill!!!- n l u awe/WM ama Patented Oct. 28, 1952 g 2,615,517 *1 V DISPENSER FOR CUTTING AND SUPPORTING TAPE.

Tripoli .1. Di Cicco, Concord, Mass, assignor i573 Electro Products Company, a'partnership Application June 21, 1948, Serial No. 34,311

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cutting and dispensing tape, particularly pressure-sensitive adhesive tape.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device to "receive a roll of tape and which is adapted to dispense the same in one or more strips of predetermined length suitable for application to a package or other article at hand to sealor secure the same. In a particular embodiment of the invention, a multi-bladed knife is provided tosever and support a plurality of such strips. in position for convenient use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which maybe readily adjusted to dispense strips in various selected lengths most suitable .for the particular purpose of the user.

A further object is the provision of relatively compact and simple apparatus operable in its entirety by a single operating means.

Other and further objects and advantages will beapparent from the following detailed explanation taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the principles of the invention has been selected for exempliflcation.

' In. the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tape dispensing device as comprehended by the present invention; Fig.2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 1 having the cover removed to show the supported roll of tape and the working parts of the dispensing mechanism;

' Fig; 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3+3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectionalview taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the 'therear face of the knife.

Referring'more particularly to the drawings 1 Claim. (01.164561 wherein like numerals refer to like parts, it] des ignates a suitable casing or housing having" a cover l2 removably secured by spring fingers I4 and I6, respectively, which engage the adjacent inner sidewall portions of the casing ill. Cover 12 conveniently is provided with a hollow hand grip portion IS. A pair of opposed vertical 'slots 18 are cast or otherwise provided inthe inner side walls toward the rear ofcasing iii to receivea fixed shaft 20 having a rotatable cylindricalsupport 22 upon which is frictionally mounteda rollgof tape T, as shown. Certain kinds of adhesive'tape have a tendency to telescope on the rolland, in order that the tape may be held in constant alignmentwith the dispensing mouth, the support. 22 is freely slidable axiallyof the shaft Zfl-to provide a floating supportlfor the tape roll T.

For maintaining the tape in proper alignment with the dispensing mechanism, aguide. assembly is interposed and is supported upon opposed.

shoulders 2d integrally cast orotherwise .provided on the sidewalls of easing lo and each having an upright pin member 26.1. ,Theguide assembly is composed ofa cross-strap 28 carrying an end flared snap spring 30, each apertured' to receive the pins-2t. The apertures 32 at opposite ends of the cross-strap, ZSIareelongated and enlarged at one end initially. to I're'ceive'the pins "-26 whichact to displace slightly] the" overhanging portion of spring 30 when'positioning the guide assembly. The cross-strap 28 is then drawn slightly forwardly, the pins 28. riding in the elongated slots 3'2 until registering. with, the apertures 34 of thespring 30 which then'snaps downwardly over the pins to. securefthe assembly I in position. i H

Secured to cross-strap 26 and depending vertically is a pair of spaced legs 35 carrying a friction roller 38 at their lower endsin position to engage the tape strip and exert pressure. thereon requisite for proper feeding of the tape. 'Pivotal- 1y attached to the legs36 ande'xten'ding rearwardly thereof is a pair of armstfi for supporting the channelled guide roller 48 which is urged into The tape feeding and dispensing mechanism is supported in general by an upright bracket member 44 fixed in the forward part of easing by screws 46 countersunk in the casing bottom wall. A shaft 48 extends transversely of the bracket 44 and through an aperture in the sidewall of the casing I to receive an operating handle or lever 50. Keyed to a sleeve 49 carried intermediate the ends of the shaft 48 are spaced feeding wheels 52 having knurled peripheries over which the tape is trained after passing the pressure roller 38. For removing the tape'nfrom the feeding wheels 52, two pairs of idler wheels 54 having notched peripheriesare rotatably. supported between the relatively. larger wheels '52 and extend tangentially of the wheels 52 so as to support the advancing tape in a, horizontal po-.- sition. Also supporting the tape strip forwardly of the idler wheels 54 and assisting in advancing the tape is a small feed wheel 56 which receives its drive from a pinion- =58 supported by the bracket 44 and linked to the feed wheels 52 "so that the wheels tend to rotate simultaneously.

,Drive for the wheels 52 is derived from ratchet wheel-60 fixed to the sleeve-49 adjacent one of the wheels 52 and ratchet pin 62 carried by a U-shaped bracket 64 which depends from shaft 48 and tends to rotate therewith. The lower arm of bracket 64 which supports'ratchet pin 62 rides in an arcuate slot 66 provided in the wall of upright bracket 44. The handle 50' which turns shaft 48 and ratchet pinbracket 64 bears against the tension of spiral spring 68- during its forward feeding and cutting stroke upon the completion of which, the handle'50 and members carried thereby are abruptly returned by the spring 68 to normal position. The operation is such that forward stroke of the handle 50 will tend to rotate the shaft 48 andbracket-M and, by means of ratchet connections 60 and 62, in turn tend to rotate simultaneously the wheels Hand 56, thus advancing a length of the tape outwardly beyond the cutting mechanism at the forward dis- "pensing portion of the apparatus.

Cuttingknife It is adapted to be rotated'onequarter of a revolution upon the rearward or return stroke of handle '50. To this end, anarm I2 is pivotally attached-to a stub shaft 1-4 secured to the bracket member and carries at its free end an upright link 16. The upperendof link 16 is pivoted to a crank arm 18 that is mounted to swing upon a knife shaft 80. Shaft 80 is supported by threaded engagement in the upper end of, an extension 44a of bracket 44. The knife shaft projects through a shield 86 whichblocks the cut out front end wallof casing in. A flat spring element 82 is of inverted U shape and one of its legs is traversed by the knifeshaft 80 so that this spring element,-as a whole, swings bodily with crank arm 18. The other or free leg of the spring element is pierced to receive the endof a ratchet pin -84 that is mounted for sliding movement through thecrank arm. The engagement of the rear end of pin 84 with the free leg of the spring element forces said elementto partake of the swinging movement lof the crank arm. This spring element thrusts .pin 84 outwardly through the shield and into angagement with the rear face of the hubportion of the knife (see Fig. 1-0) where it acts as a pawl by engaging in the ratchet like recesses 90. An arcuate slot 86a is formedin shield .85 to permit the swinging movement of. the pin along with the crank arm. In its movement from one ratchet recess 90 to another the end spring 96, as best shown in Fig. 5. Normally arm 12 is depressed by the cam 94 but when handle ."50cpp10aches the end of its forward thrust the reduced surface of cam 94 is swung by the shaft 4.8 to its lowermost position permitting the arm 12 to elevate the link 16 which in turn tends to swing crank arm 18 and pin 84 carried thereby upwardly and toward the left in Fig. 6. During this movement, the cam end of pin 84 which projects through the arcuate slot in shield 86 rides upwardlyalong the elevated surface 88 .of knife 10 until it reaches-the upperrhostnotch 9.0, into which the pin is seated by the .actionof its supporting springxflil. Thus the pin.84.;constitutes, in effect, a pawl, and the notches .constitutevin efiect, ratchet surfaces in which said pinor. pawl engages. When handle is released and is re.- turned abruptly to. norma1.p0siti0n by itsspring 68, the enlargedface of cam 9.4..wil1 simultaneously. depress arm 12 .and, through connecting link 16 and crank arm 18 carrying .pin- 84 which now is seated in oneof. the notches .90, move the knife .10. one-quarter.0f a revolution; .suflicient to sever the. length. ofxtape projecting beyond the shieldflfi.

The rotatable blades of :knife '10 .coact; with a fixed blade. plate :38. carried by bracket 44 and which projects through shield 86qimmediately above the path along which the .tape is advanced by. the drive wheels .52 and .56. The.:blade.98 may be'removedor adjusted as required by bolts H10 which secure the. same to the bracket. 44. Knife "1.0 is ordinarily-self adjustingbyaretaim ing coil spring tll2- contained within. a cone.- shaped cup I04 secured to the shaft fiflxattits front or outer end. The cutting blades ;of knife H! are relatively wide so as to .provideasupporting ledge for. each severed length'of tape, as best shown in Fig. 1. .Thus, uponfour actuations. of the handle '59, .four lengths of. tapemay besevered from the roll and each supported' uponone of the blades in convenient positioniforsthe operator to graspand applytothepackage another article atv hand. As is illustrated in Fig; 1;:the severed lengths of adhesive tape adhere tothose portions of theedges of the blades. with which they contact. As the blades of the :knife. move upwardly past. the fixed blade;98 to;co.act;there.- with the upper .face ofeach of the movable blades comes into contact --with .theadhesiveiace of the tape with such pressure,:in theactofcutting, that the adhesive .tapesticks .t0;th8.fhl8.d8 edges. Theseedges are thick enoughito provide distinct ledges to which the severed portions .of the tape may cling and be carriedaroundto .advancedpositions. The engagementofthe severed strips with these ledges and the thickness ,of said l d s. issnch that th -strips stand nut in the direction iofthe ,axis .fibQllt which the knife revolves and parallelgwithsaid axis-a5 shown in Fig. 1; =Only-theend-portions. of the strips aresp en a d with t blades. l avin thei v ctim portions outstanding, ito bereadilygraspedbythe u er. hus a clerk desiri c .-s a .1 a:- as kas may, by operating handle-50- four .timesahave four severed pieces of tape presented for ready application to such package.

To prevent the blades of knife from turning or tending to rotate further when the severed lengths of tape are pulled off, a pin I06 projects through an aperture in the shield 86 to engage the blade adjacent and to serve as a stop when the knife 10 has completed a turn and is at rest. Pin I06 is supported by a leaf spring I08 secured to the rear face of shield 86 and tending normally to urge the pin inwardly out of the path of the rotatable blades. The spring I08 however is engaged by crank arm 18 in a cam action which synchronizes movement of the pin I06 with the blades so that the pin is projected into operative position without interference with cutting action of the blades.

The lengths of tape which may be severed, for most purposes from 1 inches to 2 inches, may be predetermined by simple adjustment of the throw of handle 50 which controls the extent of movement of the tape advancing wheel-s. To this end, handle shaft 48 is provided with a transversely extending fixed pin I I0 which abuts against a stop II2 carried by bracket 44 to limit the forward thrust of handle 50. In its opposed extremity of movement pin I10 abuts against a plug I I4 which, as best shown in Fig. 5, is threaded to an adjusting screw IIB having a knurled head H8 disposed for ready access at the front or dispensing end of the apparatus. By rotating the knob H8 the position of plug stop I14 may be adjusted to vary the extent of the rearward limit of the throw of handle 50.

It will be understood that the particular elements and arrangement and construction of the various parts herein shown and described are exemplary only of a preferred form of the present invention which embracesv such modifications as come within the scope of the following claim.

What I claim is:

In a machine for dispensing tape of the kind having one plain face and one adhesive face the combination with a casing having a dispensing mouth, a fixed blade plate spanning said mouth, a movable cutting mechanism comprising a plurality of substantially radially extending blades, means for imparting step by step rotary movement to said cutting mechanism to move said blades across the fixed blade plate in cutting coaction therewith, means controlled by said first named means for feeding the tape through said mouth while said cutting mechanism is stationary across and beneath the blade plate with its plain side toward the blade plate and its adhesive side toward the edge of the advancing blade of the movable cutting mechanism, said blades having outwardly projecting ledges adjacent the cutting edges of the blades to which ledges the adhesive sides of the cut ofi portions of the tape adhere, the forward feeding of the tape being to a degree to cause the cut off portions of the tape to project materially beyond said blades and the said ledges being of such width in proportion to the lengths of tape cut off as to hold and carry successively cut off portions to a plurality of advanced positions with said out off portions outstanding from the blades in substantial parallelism with each other.

' TRIPOLI J. DI CICCO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,348,242 Ross Aug.'3, 1920 1,480,224 Sentou et al Jan. 8,. 1924 1,649,238 Kronmiller Nov. 15, 1927 1,908,014 Evans et a1. May 9, 1933 2,051,491 Lockett Aug. 18, 1936 2,099,647 Gautier Nov. 16, 1937 2,143,252 Kornegg Jan. 10, 1939 2,175,959 Goldstein Oct. 10, 1939 2,275,409 Anderson Mar. 10, 1942 2,298,360 Fitch Oct. 13, 1942 2,435,795 Quinlan Feb. 10, 1948 

